As bad as Wyoming drought is, it could be worse

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Reservoirs are low, runoff is down and dust storms are
more frequent.

But as bad as Wyoming's drought is, it is worse in other areas of the West,
State Climatologist Jan Curtis said.

"I've been looking at satellite imagery of how green the region is, and
Colorado is a tinderbox that's just ready to go," Curtis said Monday.
"Wyoming looks good in comparison."

Still, the danger of a bad fire season looms high.

The latest map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Wyoming firmly in the
grip of extreme drought. The border areas of the state are slightly better,
ranging from severe to moderate drought.

There is some hope.

The Seasonal Drought Outlook, published by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, shows that southeast Wyoming's drought
condition is likely to improve through July, while the rest of the state's
drought will continue, with some improvement possible.

Curtis said any hope lies with El Nino, a weather phenomenon which tends to
generate a greater flow of moist air from the Gulf of California,
triggering more showers and thunderstorms in the summer.

"The trouble is, El Nino is having a hard time developing and there isn't
the noticeable signature we would see this time of year," he said.

Last summer was the hottest in Wyoming in 107 years. This summer may be
cooler by a few degrees, Curtis said, thanks to more clouds.

"That's the good news. The bad news is that with more clouds, we're likely
to have more lightning sparking fires."

The news for irrigators isn't good either.

Reservoirs throughout the state are low and spring runoffs have peaked
several weeks earlier than normal.

"The ground is so dry that any late snow we've received has been quickly
absorbed, with little runoff to go to the reservoirs," Curtis said.

Wyoming is beginning to see dust storms again, although not the massive,
towering storms that characterized the 1930s during the Great Depression.
Farmers have learned better soil management techniques and don't turn as
much soil as their grandfathers did 70 years ago, he said.

"I don't see a doomsday scenario for Wyoming," Curtis said. Last week's wet
snows have sparked growth in rangeland grasses, "but we need more or we're
going to go backwards fast."

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On the Net:

U.S. Drought Monitor: http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

Climate Prediction Center: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

State Drought Monitor:

http://www.wrds.uwyo.edu/wrds/wsc/dtf/drought.html